Who would have figured that a smug and sanctimonious prick like Rick Santorum would turn out to be a Cafeteria Catholic?
For those not familiar with the term, a Cafeteria Catholic is someone who is uncomfortable with many of the church's teachings but stays in the church anyway and picks and chooses which teachings to follow as if selecting items in a cafeteria line.
You would think that someone as pious as Santorum would follow church teachings to the letter. But, alas, he doesn't. In fact, considering how much Santorum deviates from Catholic teachings, Mitt Romney is probably a better Catholic.
And thanks to Juan Cole, we have a Top 10 list of Catholic Teachings Santorum Rejects while Obsessing about Birth Control
Some of them are obvious.
The church is opposed to the death penalty and was opposed to the Iraq war. Wanna guess where Santorum is on those two?
The Conference of Catholic Bishops urges health care for everyone. Santorum, of course, sees that as a socialist plot.
There are others:
4. The US Conference of Bishops has urged that the federal minimum wage be increased, for the working poor. Santorum in the Senate repeatedly voted against the minimum wage.
5. The bishops want welfare for all needy families, saying “We reiterate our call for a minimum national welfare benefit that will permit children and their parents to live in dignity. A decent society will not balance its budget on the backs of poor children.” Santorum is a critic of welfare.
6. The US bishops say that “the basic rights of workers must be respected–the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions…”. Santorum, who used to be supportive of unions in the 1990s, has now, predictably, turned against them.
7. Catholic bishops demand the withdrawal of Israel from Palestinian territories occupied in 1967. Rick Santorum denies that there are any Palestinians, so I guess he doesn’t agree with the bishops on that one.
Increasing the minimum wage? Welfare for everyone who needs it?
Respecting the rights of workers? Demanding an end to illegal Israeli settlements?
And, of course, Santorum and the church don't exactly see eye to eye on immigration either.
Makes you wonder why the church still allows this heretic to receive communion.